Sunday, March 3. 2013

Yes, the latest coach, RI 2612, is begining to look like a coach once more!! Matter-of-fact one of the electric car members visited yesterday and even remarked it sure looks a lot better!!!

Notice the curtains in the windows

The interior before we touched it. Just to refresh your memory

This is the interior last week

Here are the amazing results of just a few hours efforts. Warren Newhauser and Paul Cronin are watching the old paint just fall off the celiling

Scaping the peeling white paint

Another Rock Island fan and new volunteer, Brian Patterson, really got into peeling the old carpet off the wall. In many places it peeled off right to the bare metal. Thanks for your help, Brian. See you next time,when it's a little warmer. BTY, as you can see in this picture, Warren was working without his coat. After I removed the gray curtains the sun came thur and warmed the entire car. It was quite comfortable.

Yes, That WAS RED CARPETING

Here we all are working away this last Saturday Feb 2, 2013

All the xmas boxes are gone

Looking better

Hey, Paul, is the floor swept?

A final surveying of our progress

The results of one days efforts

As you can see with just two days of work the car has been transformed into a work of? NO, not yet! Much work to be done. Next, removing the green fabric on the indidvidual seats and scraping more paint; then sweep,sweep and more sweep. Want to help? Please come out on a Saturday and/or Sunday and stop by Barn 3 to say hello. If you can't make it please consider a donation to Rock Island 2612 fund to help pay the track storage fund. Remember, with all our efforts this Will happen....................... More good news is coming.... Roger Kramer

Sunday, March 3. 2013

Nigel has been in the UK this last week. Here are a few examples of the events happening in the Steam dept this last Saturday. Often the question is asked "How come it takes so long" Well, I guess its because of the old machinery, I'll show you some pictures. There is a learning curve to these old, steel behemoths from a bygone era! Acquiring the techniques to repair and restore the engines and machinery, is not an easy task. Most if not all the people that you see in these pics, whether from myself or Nigel's pictures are all "new" to the program. The only volunteer that has been w/ the Steam program since the 1970's is the curator, Tom Schneider.

Tom, this is the lesson for the day

He is teaching and passing his knowledge to the younger generation. Here are the teams latest efforts. Remember, SAFTY is rule number One.

Phil painting... He is one of the youngest members

Jeff and Gerry hanging new air line pipe in new shop addition

cleaning backhead parts

more wirewheeling

Dennis, shop welder, finished welding Bull gear for the wheel lathe

Ralph working on the old planner. An important machine to get in operation. To be used for the 428 driving boxes

Rest

Now, as Nigel would say "Another productive day" ................................. An important milestone has been reached for the 1630; Dennis has welded the patch into place............................................ Cheers!!!! Your help is still needed for three projects. Donations are still needed for the Restricted fund Rock Island 938 and Restricted Fund CB&Q 3007 for indoor Barn Storage. Lastly, $ are still needed to continue funding the rebuilding of UP 428. Thank You Roger Kramer

Sunday, March 3. 2013

Or in this case, the pattern IS the work. Frank Kehoe shows off a very elaborate piece of woodworking - be sure to look closely at the full screen image to see the hundreds, maybe thousands of small pyramids milled into the surface of this slab. This will be sealed and then sent to a foundry for a cast iron pour. Ultimately the finished castings will provide new threshold plates for Chicago Rapid Transit 1024. Non skid? You bet!

Berlin Sander

The work continued on the Berlin Sander, assembling and lowering the deck back onto the mechanism. That was not without DRAMA. Bill Peterson and Dave Diaz did a lot of the 'heavy lifting' and here we are only a few parts away from finishing the re-assembly.

A Working Sander

Dave Diaz and Bill Peterson wasted no time after we did some checkout and got the machine running. Here is one of the two new doors made for Chicago Great Western X 38. Both doors went through the machine without incident, although I think some more adjustment and fine tuning could be made on the feed rolls.

The Doors

After sanding, both doors had the tails cut off of the stiles. We leave those long to protect the assembly in handling, but now they are squared off to finished length. Then we sized and squared the previously made lower panels. Bill Peterson and Victor Humphreys are calling it a day with the panels in place on the first door.

Interior Tongue and Groove

Warren Newhauser showed up early and got a head start on the T&G we made three weeks ago. Here he is cleaning them up to ready them for prime painting. These will be installed in the Milwaukee Road X 5000 dynamometer car.

Priming

Warren, new volunteer Brian Patterson, and Buzz Morisette are busy with the paint for the X 5000 boards. Yes, it appears Warren was working hard and shed the green shirt he was wearing earlier.

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Roger Kramer about New Diesel Arrives for the CollectionThu, 12-08-2016 07:46Hi Andy I know, you guys did an
excellent job of unloading the
diesel as well as the turn table!
No other museum could accomplish
what you fellas [...]

Matt Maloy about More Happy Holiday ScenesWed, 12-07-2016 19:23There has been a rumor going around
the CNW Dash-9 twins are now owned
by the Museum. Is this true, or are
they still "in storage"? If memory
serves [...]

Raphael about More Happy Holiday ScenesTue, 12-06-2016 17:42"Four pieces of our CNW equipment"?
i thought UP owned the 2 Dash-9's?

Nick about More Happy Holiday ScenesTue, 12-06-2016 17:36I noticed in the fifth picture the
caption referred to the two stored
CNW's as "our" equipment. Has the
ownership of these units changed to
IRM?